WHITE HOUSE ADVISERS surprised by Obama’s handoff to Bill Clinton. Ya think?

Related: “This has to be one of the worst PR moves in the entirety of the administration. Obviously, Clinton is probably a more popular Democratic figure right now, but they had to imagine this would hurt Obama. I mean, letting a former president explain your tax bill while you head to a Christmas party? A Christmas party?” Plus this: “I guess it could have been worse. Obama could have left to go play hoops.”

Also: “They told me if I voted for Hillary, that Bill Clinton would basically be a co-president AND THEY WERE RIGHT!” Heh.

UPDATE: Somehow, Bill Clinton Is Now President. “Why did Obama leave himself vulnerable to this grotesque upstaging, and why did Clinton do it? Was Clinton unaware of how this looked? Was Obama? Maybe Obama realized he’d made a mistake sharing the stage with Clinton without any ground rules, and walking out on Clinton was the best idea he had at that point. And maybe Clinton decided to deliberately show off the way a real President talks to the press because he actually wants to weaken Obama and create an opening for Hillary to challenge him in 2012.”